In The Stars
by Lady Silvamord
Summary: Kalasin. Kaddar. Fifty themes. [complete]


Note: Kalasin. Kaddar. 50 themes. Ranging from one-liners to full-length drabbles. Okay, so, yeah, kill me for procrastinating on the epilogues for Not Your Average Carthaki Fairy tale, but it's seriously hurting me to end that fic. -wince- Speaking of which, if you squint, you see spoilers for aforementioned fic in this one. Not like they're related, or anything. But I'm rambling now.

Enjoy!

**01: Sweetheart**

He calls her that—sweetheart—and she just can't understand it. _Sweetheart _was George and Alanna. It was Uncle Gary and Aunt Cythera. It was Numair and Daine. It was even her own parents.

It wasn't Kalasin and Kaddar. It just _wasn't _a couple who had went through an arranged marriage and spent such a long time hating each other, and were currently caught in an awkward limbo between friends and something more.

He is persistent, if nothing else, and she gets used to it, even though sometimes she still lectures him for it.

Kalasin won't admit, to herself or to anybody else, that deep down, she enjoys being his beloved, or sweetheart, or the other irritating endearments he creates for her.

Secretly, he knows, but he will never let her know that he does. She is a quirky, slightly insane little thing, and he allows her one scrap of pride.

--

**02: Laughter**

Kaddar nuzzles her neck, tickles her ribs, plays foot war with her under the Council table, tries to undress her in their favorite niche in the kitchens, and does other outrageously flirtatious things that she doesn't understand. Why go to all the trouble?

He refuses to tell her, but the answer is ridiculously simple—he loves the sound of her laughter.

--

**03: Breakfast**

He coerces her into _sampling _a little bit of the next day's breakfast while they are in the kitchens together, and later Kalasin figures that it was all part of an elaborate plot.

It had certainly been no coincidence that she had been given a plate of the juiciest mangoes ever, and she is in the middle of enjoying the sweet fruit, completely ignoring the juice that is getting smeared on her nose and cheeks.

And of course, his excuse for leaning over and kissing all the mango from her cheeks, lips, and chin, is because she is getting messy and too tempting to be left alone.

Kalasin doesn't protest, not really, except for pushing the plate of mango away, and ever since that afternoon, she has never been able to think of the sweet, luscious fruit in the same way again.

--

**04: Menagerie**

Kalasin refuses to admit it—because there are a great many things she still will not admit, regarding Kaddar—but she thinks he looks adorable like this, his dark, messy hair pulled down from his horsetail, the shoulder-length strands she loves to toy with, dripping with giraffe saliva.

She presses against him, and tells him that she always _knew _that he was absolutely irresistible, and he laughs at her, before giving her a rather damp kiss. She tightens her arms around him, and completely forgets the smell and sounds of the menagerie around her.

--

**05: Puppy**

Kaddar honestly hadn't known that she was allergic to cats, that one time in the early days of their marriage, when he had decided to introduce her to the palace cat. She had sneezed about twenty times, begun to cry, and then ran away and locked herself in the bathroom, sobbing about how she didn't deserve a husband who tried to murder her with something as unromantic as a kitty cat.

The memories of that unpleasant experience still haunt him, and that's why he is so overjoyed at the expression on her face when he hands the small light brown puppy to her. She cradles it, buries her head in its soft fur, coos absolute nonsense for a few minutes, and then puts it down on their bed with a kiss.

And then comes the excited, grateful squeal and the rather shocking experience of being tackled down onto the bed and hugged and squished enthusiastically.

The puppy steps on top of them both, little paws uncertain. Kaddar protests, and the unfazed dog sticks its cold, wet nose into Kaddar's neck, nuzzling and licking him excitedly.

The Imperial Couple and the new addition to their little family roll around on the bed for a little while, Emperor, Empress, and dog content to just _be. _

--

**06: Presents**

One of Kaddar's betrothal gifts to her is a blue veil that came with the set of sapphire and ruby jewelry. The veil is made out of such fine material that it's supposed to be able to pass through a bride's marriage ring.

In the privacy of her room, the night before her wedding, Princess Kalasin draws the veil through her engagement ring, just received during the ceremony tonight, amazed that it actually fits.

She holds her hand up to the moonlight, watching the moonstone on the ring catch the silvery light. He has chosen well for her.

On the other side of the palace, Emperor Kaddar tosses and turns, unable to sleep. He finally leans over and fingers the small box on his nightstand. Drawing the delicate necklace out of the box, he wonders for the millionth time if she likes the moonstones and pearls. He tries to imagine the necklace around her elegant neck, and unbidden, the thought of her smiling face springs into mind.

Two very different people stare into the same moon in that night, wondering what the future will bring for them.

--

**07: Heat**

The lazy summer days at Radzyn are enjoyed very much by both of them, but secretly Kaddar can't help but think that he enjoys the nights a bit more, because Kalasin and her low heat tolerance lead her to sleep without a nightgown most of the time.

She wears her long hair twisted up into a braid at the back of her head, and he traces the soft, graceful curves of her spine with a finger as she shivers suddenly.

He whispers that she should really decide whether she is hot or cold, and then winces a little as her fingernails dig into his shoulders. Not cold, she whispers back. Never.

--

**08: First Date**

Holding hands is a simple luxury for them, especially after coming to an understanding. Covert kisses in the hallways and yet more foot wars under the table let them live the youth that they had both grown up too fast to properly experience.

--

**09: Ice Cream**

Butter pecan _really _isn't Kalasin's preferred ice cream flavor, but she doesn't mind it so much when Kaddar decides to feed her half of his bowl, in an attempt to make her 'see the light.'

--

**10: Corset**

Kalasin has known how to properly unlace a corset since the age of fifteen, but when Kaddar asks if she needs any help, she nods demurely and turns around, trying not to shiver as she feels his fingers brush her bare back.

--

**11: Crowning Glory**

It is a delicate and beautiful tiara, all elaborately worked silver, topped by sapphires the exact shade of her eyes. It feels light in her hands, but when she places it on her head for the first time, the princess fully understands what being Empress will mean.

--

**12: Confusion**

The first time that Kalasin wakes up to the puppy nuzzling her neck and licking her all over, she almost thinks it's Kaddar, but then she sees the sense of it. Kaddar isn't a small, furry puppy who is deathly afraid of mice and Zaimid, and she has offended him dreadfully by waking him up by squealing and telling him to take a cold shower, because it's about two in the morning and _far _too early for _that_ kind of thing.

--

**13: Flirtation**

The young and handsome University students love to flirt with their lovely Empress, making the Emperor's fingers tighten around his wineglass, and he has to take a few deep breaths and remind himself that taxing their fathers' holdings into poverty isn't the diplomatic way to handle things.

--

**14: Fragrant**

He discovers that Kalasin enjoys the fragrance of lime and coconut, and before long, the scent lingers in his thoughts and nose, haunting him through night and day.

--

**15: Invitation**

Kalasin likes his rose garden, and often invents excuses to randomly drop in while he's tending to the garden. After almost half a year of this routine, he just invites her to come along whenever he does, and she beams at him, places her hand in his, and follows.

--

**16: April Fools**

When Kalasin's mare and Kaddar's stallion mated, Zaimid made awful jokes that generally made everybody in the immediate vicinity blush.

One day, just for payback, Kaddar asks Kalasin if she will accompany him to the stables, deliberately making sure that Zaimid can hear both of them clearly. Kalasin demurs, saying that he _knew _that she didn't like hay as much as soft grass. He sighs exaggeratedly, and tells her that the gardens it is.

Zaimid's jaw drops and he chokes on the bit of treacle tart he had been chewing.

Later, Kalasin and Kaddar laugh themselves silly over their little prank, but secretly, Kaddar can't help wondering if she really _would _prefer grass to hay.

--

**17: Pillow Fight**

The first time Kalasin sits on their new bed, she inwardly marvels at how soft and luxurious it is. If she wasn't eighteen and extremely mature, she would jump up and down on it. She wonders fleetingly if Kaddar would consider a pillow fight with her, and then thinks better of it. An Emperor probably wouldn't care to be trounced by his bride on his wedding night.

--

**18: Different**

Kaddar wonders for almost all of the wedding ceremony if she is nervous about the night to come. What if she completely broke down once they were alone? What if she cried? What if she yelled or screamed or hit him or flinched if he even looked at her…

He stares at her after emerging from the bathroom. She seems to have made herself completely at home, snuggling into her blankets and sheets. In a moment of fleeting curiosity, he brushes her finger across her cheek, seeing if she would wake.

She mumbles in her sleep and turns around, and other than that, doesn't even notice his presence. Kaddar is a little amazed, but nevertheless glad that she seems to be enjoying herself.

--

**19: Color**

Kaddar and Kalasin argue about _colors _a lot, and one day Kaddar gives her a world-weary sigh, and tells her that he should just get her a rainbow, so that she could have all the favorite colors that she could ever want.

--

**20: Duty **

Jonathan of Conté once said, laughingly, that it was a father's duty to spoil his daughters, and a husband's duty to tame them.

Kalasin Iliniat considers herself lucky in that aspect, for both her father _and _her husband seem to have no qualms about spoiling her.

--

**21: Sandalwood**

Kaddar gives her a sandalwood fan one day, a handmade, delicately crafted thing. Carved designs twist up the panels, and Kalasin finds equal joy in the respite it gives her from the heat of Carthaki summers and the light fragrance it makes when she fans herself with it.

And the thought of her Kaddar, _shopping _for sandalwood fans, brings a little smile to her face.

--

**22: Ebony**

Her hair is as black as ebony, and Kaddar finds secret pleasure in brushing it out and braiding it for her. Not frequently enough to let her _know _that he _likes _her, but enough to let her know that he cares enough to save her the time and agony of taking endless knots out in the morning.

--

**23: Kiss**

It is innocent enough; just a tiny goodnight peck on the lips, but Kalasin tosses and turns until she is all twisted up in the blankets. Her lips burn with the need for more, and keep burning until she buries them in her pillow, amazed at how much things have changed.

--

**24: Silk**

The first time they ever do it, it is because neither is sure that they will ever make it out of being just friends, and often, royalty has to settle for less than love. Carthak needs an heir, and they are responsible for that, just friends or not.

Much later, Kaddar brushes a light kiss against her mouth, absentmindedly admiring the way her body looks against the dark red silk bedsheets, and part of him wishes that they could have more than this.

--

**25: Dream**

He dreams that she is a kitten once, and Kalasin protests loudly at waking up, folded in his embrace, and being petted and kissed as if she is a cat. She asks—rather, _demands—_to know what he was dreaming about, and he tells her. Later that day, he braids her hair, and she purrs aloud.

They both laugh, and Kaddar teases her about the effects of seduction by catnip.

--

**26: Fire**

Kaddar uses his Gift to light the candles in their bedchamber, too lazy to manually get up and do it himself. The fire smells like roses, damp soil, and all manners of flowers. He winces at her, and offers apologies.

Kalasin smiles back at him, and says that at least he doesn't have to go to all the trouble of carpeting their bed with rose petals, now.

--

**27: Healer**

Kaddar thinks that the most convenient thing about having a Healer as a wife is that he gets the _best _massages ever. End of story.

--

**28: Evening Out**

They skip the dinner that one Midsummer, after Kalasin spends almost two days coaxing him into it. "After all," she persuades, "Midsummer is only once a year, and this is our first together. There are dinners with pesky councilors _every day."_

Kaddar decides to agree, and they spend their evening far away from the seven-course formal dinner, splashing their feet in the clear pond and eating—or feeding each other, it depends on how messy the dish is; the messier, the better—strawberries, tomatoes, oranges, apples, coconut ice, cold lemon meringue pie with vanilla cookie crust, and everything else that they had managed to steal from the kitchens.

Kaddar also comes to another decision that night—he should really let Kally coax him into things like this more often.

--

**29: Inner Meanings **

Kaddar's name means "powerful" in Thak, and Kalasin thinks it very fitting.

_Kalasin_. It's a rather strange name, by Carthaki standards, but pretty and unique. He looks it up one day, and finds that Kalasin means "peaceful warrior."

He snorts a little. Warrior she may be, but peaceful? He rather doubts it. When crossed, she is nothing less than absolutely frightening. It is a bit embarrassing to admit it, but it is the truth, after all.

--

**30: Diplomat**

Kaddar complains about it quite a bit; "Kally, you _can't _let him sleep in our bed much longer. He's going to get bigger, and his legs are going to get longer, and he already kicks me _enough _and I'd rather wake up to your kisses than the rather unwelcome attentions of an overgrown dog_—_"

Kalasin flops down on the dog, covering his silky golden ears with her hands. "Don't _yell _at him!" she scolds. "You're going to make him sad, and could you really live with that? The puppy _stays, _and that's that"

The Emperor and Empress glare at each other, the innocent dog caught in the crossfire. Then, he decides to do something about it, and gets up and paws his human master over, knocking him down on his back and licking his face joyfully, until there's nothing left for Kalasin and Kaddar to do but laugh.

The dog walks back to his place on his mother Kally's pillow, and sits down contentedly, licking his paws. His work here is done.

--

**31: Unwelcome Attentions**

Kalasin finds a sadistic pleasure in dressing in her most risqué nightgowns just when he decides to pull a late night with state documents, and so it really isn't _his_ fault that not a lot of the documents are finished by the next morning.

--

**32: Unexpected**

It was really quite shocking that all four Iliniat children inherited war magic, and what was more shocking was the number of curtains, bedsheets, vases, gloves—anything flammable, really—that the Imperial Family went through in one year.

--

**33: Decision**

Elissar Iliniat hovers around his little sister and best friend, tailing them around the gardens stubbornly, and his parents laugh at the expression on his face.

Kaddar decides not to let his little princess marry abroad, no matter what, because where she would go, Elissar would abandon whatever he was doing and go with her.

--

**34: Rivalry**

Kaddar scowls at his opponent. "You are determined to make this hard for me, aren't you?" he hisses.

Ever cocky, Lord Beans of Catha Heights puts his nose in the air and sniffs in disdain.

"Fine. You leave me no choice."

There is an anguished yelp, and Beans the dog is forced to evacuate the bed as his human master pulls out the dreaded feather duster. He jumps off of his mother's pillow with a bark of protest, runs to the nearest armchair and noses himself under a blanket, cowering as the feather duster is brandished once more.

His mommy Kally comes out of the study, smelling of ink and perfume. "Beans?" she asks, craning her head to the side curiously. "Kaddar, what is Beans doing in the armchair?"

The rival for Kally's heart drops the feather duster hurriedly. "I have absolutely _no_ idea. When I came back, he was curled under there. I thought he was asleep, and I didn't want to disturb the poor puppy."

"You're so sweet, Kaddar," she says flirtatiously, and Beans wants to get up and run to her, trying to explain that no, Kaddar wasn't sweet, he was going to tickle his nose with the feather duster again, but he sees sense quickly. Humans don't understand _anything, _and even though he loves Kally, she is a human too, after all.

Beans goes back under the blanket, ignoring the two humans, who are currently acting like lovesick puppies. It is time to plot revenge.

--

**35: Suspicion**

Kaddar is indignant that Kally doesn't believe him—"Gods, Kaddar, he is a _puppy!_" she exclaims, flinging her arms around the dog's neck. "_How_ is an innocent dog supposed to break your feather duster?"

Beans gives Kaddar a smug glance, almost reducing the emperor to tears of frustration.

--

**36: Oddity **

Kalasin finds it odd, what happened to Kaddar's feather duster. But she doesn't complain about it. No feather duster means no tickling sessions that leave her in tears from laughter and winded, gasping for breath.

She will miss that, a little, but soon enough she discovers that tickling _without _a feather duster is equally enjoyable, and makes her laugh just as much.

--

**37: Trust**

Kalasin doesn't mind being the submissive one in their relationship, because she knows without doubt that Kaddar would never hurt her.

--

**38: Blind**

The sensation shocks and frightens her—for the first time in her life, not being able to _see. _Right now, the fact that it's just a blindfold doesn't matter to her—she's scared, and skitters away as he touches her.

Kaddar murmurs a gentle reassurance, and she allows herself into his embrace after a few moments, a little clumsily and completely blind. His kisses and touches slowly soothe her, and before long the panicked ache in her chest relaxes into the feeling of being on the edge of something that she can't quite see, on the edge of a leap and a fall that might be pain or pleasure, or good or bad, right or wrong, until everything blurs together in her mind.

The emperor senses something's a little amiss, and pulls the blindfold off, seeing the tears that blur her eyes, threatening to spill over.

He pulls her into his arms, shocked, telling her that he is sorry, _so _sorry, a million times over, apologizing until the words won't come anymore and until she cries until there are no tears left.

"Never again," Kaddar says, and she is surprised at the firmness in his voice.

Her arms tighten against him. "Never."

--

**39: Overprotective**

It is a bit of a dire situation.

Moderate touching is allowed. Hand kisses elicit a very displeased look. Cheek kisses make him growl. And he had tried to kiss her on the lips in his presence, and he had been knocked down and pinned.

Kaddar finds the fact that the family dog won't allow him to touch his own wife _very _displeasing.

"We need to fix this," he mutters to her softly.

"How?" she asks, eyeing Beans. "Kaddar, look at him, he's lost all of his winter coat! Doesn't his fur look silky?"

"You're not _helping,_" he gives her the evil eye, and wishes that she hadn't chosen to wear such a tantalizing nightgown.

Unruffled, she adjusts one shoulder strap. "Come here, Beans. Here, puppy."

Beans trots over obediently, tongue hanging out of the side of his mouth. He places both paws on the sofa, and licks Kally from hand to elbow, and she giggles, before bending down and placing one hand on each side of his golden face. "Beans, I want you to listen to me. I love you dearly and I understand that you love me, too, but Kaddar is my mate."

The dog gives her a grave look.

"See, Beans, I know that you're a bit too young to understand this, but Kaddar and I are in love. We're mates. We do…mate things. You have to let us do these things, or else, um, bad things happen."

Beans stares at her for a few minutes, and the penetrating gaze of his brown eyes make both Kalasin and Kaddar fidget. Then, he sneezes, drenching Kaddar's arm in cold doggy saliva. He walks away, looking dignified, and goes to his armchair, nosing under the blanket and radiating disapproval.

Kaddar wipes his arm off on the sofa. "That was awkward."

Kalasin sighs, getting up and sitting on his lap, twining both arms around his neck. "Yes, well. Are you going to fret about it all night, or are you going to kiss me?"

Kaddar kisses her soundly, and nothing cataclysmic happens. He smirks against her lips, and both of them settle into the comfortable kissing routine that had been disrupted for the past month, very contentedly.

--

**40: Moonlight**

Kalasin's favorite scarf is dark red, embroidered with celestial patterns on the sides. The moonlight glimmers off the scarf, and the silver thread glints under the night's sky.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" asks Kalasin, gazing at the stars.

Kaddar nods his agreement, and a faint flush colors her cheeks, because he isn't talking about the night or the gardens, and they both know it.

--

**41: Flowers**

This decision is one of the hardest he's ever had to make.

Red is too…love-oriented. She might think he's coming on too strong. His white roses aren't fine enough for her. Yellow is a bit too nondescript this year. They just aren't the _right _shade. The same went for purple, pink, orange, peach, and almost all of the others out there.

On her nineteenth birthday, Kalasin wakes up to a bouquet of roses, one in almost every color imaginable. The thorns have been painfully plucked out, every single one of them, and all of the roses were tied together with two ribbons, one in yellow, and one in scarlet.

She picks up the bouquet, dazzled, and buries her face in the fresh flowers. A piece of parchment falls out of the flowers, with some Kaddar-scribbles on it.

_Okay, so, the flowers. I just couldn't decide. I know you like red, but red is coming on a bit too strong, and I also know that you like the pink and orange ones, but those were a bit spotty this season—anyway, I got a few of each color for you. I hope you like them, sweetheart._

_The ribbons—red means love and yellow means friendship, and I guess those two things pretty much sum up how I feel for you. Happy birthday, Kally. _

_Lots of love. _

--

**42: Breathe**

Kaddar kisses her; and she almost forgets how to breathe.

--

**43: Children**

Elissar wrinkles his nose and says that girls are _icky. _Kaddar tells him that he'll change his mind some time soon, and remembers how icky he had thought Kalasin.

"All right. It might take a while to change your mind about girls, but remember this. The one you think the ickiest of all is the one you'll probably end up marrying, so be objective about it."

--

**44: Preordained**

The Emperor Mage is gone, but his ultimatum still lingers—that the Prince Kaddar and Princess Kalasin would wed in spring of the first year of the Immortals War.

Quite a few years later, Kaddar looks at Kalasin and their children, and wonders at the odds. It was almost as if all of it had been preordained.

--

**45: Whimsy**

The Graveyard Hag is no stranger to gambling with human lives as the profit. They are hers, _all _hers, to use as she wishes. She looks at her chessboard, one that spans centuries, lives, and countries. A quick movement of her hand while the Great Gods' backs are turned, and Princess Kalasin and Emperor Kaddar stand next to each other on the field.

She cackles. It is a strange whimsy of hers, and something that she can't quite explain. Why these two?

The Hag leans back with a snap of her fingers, and Jonathan of Conté wakes up from a deep sleep, the beginnings of a plan forming in his head.

Why set this particular chain of events in motion?

Well…Kaddar and Kalasin.

They would have some _very _attractive children, and that would certainlybe useful in the future. A goddess had to have someentertainment, you know.

--

**46: Secret**

Kaddar has long hair, and Kalasin finds that a little strange. In Tortall, for a man to have shoulder-length hair was just…not done.

She never complains about it, though. Secretly, she thinks that Kaddar's hair is sexy.

--

**47: Cold Feet**

Kaddar paces around, muttering to himself, utterly frustrated. He had tried rubbing his feet on the bearskin rug. No success. Warming them by the fire? Temporary success. Sticking them under the sleeping Beans? No success at all.

He flops down on the armchair and sighs in defeat. Having a wife who kicked you out of bed if you had cold feet was just about the _worst _thing of all.

--

**48: Companionship **

He is with Kalasin when the news of the Yamut lords' treachery reaches him, and his fingers tighten around the bit of parchment. Little orange finger-flames begin to burn at the edges, but before he can get angrier, a small hand slips into his own, silently assuring him that everything is going to be all right.

--

**49: Embrace**

She's homesick and wants a hug, and that becomes more, and Kaddar tries to convince himself that this isn't taking advantage of her. It is just an innocent little embrace, after all.

--

**50: Wish**

There was a time when both Kalasin and Kaddar could have made endless wishes, but after a few years, neither of them will (still) admit to one another that there is nothing left to wish for, anymore, because together, despite everything, they have everything that they have ever wanted.

--- -- ---- --- -- ---- --

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End file.
